Editorial: Singling out poor Hoosiers

When did it become vogue to assume that people poor enough to need food stamps are assumed to be on drugs, too?

An Indiana House bill was sent to the state Senate with a 78-17 vote and a recommendation that Hoosiers on welfare should pass drug tests to get their benefits.

On some level, all of Indiana should cheer the proclamations of just wanting to do the right thing for families caught in a cycle of addiction. "What we're trying to do is give somebody a hand up instead of a handout," said Rep. Jud McMillin, R-Brookville, the author of House Bill 1483.

Maybe so. But benevolence isn't driving a bill that seeks to weed out drug users and toss them into treatment at their own cost if they want to hang on to their family's Temporary Assistance to Needy Families government help. Adding a stigmatizing hoop to the process is. The undercurrent is punitive, no matter how many other states have made a drug-testing means part of the food stamp process.

Even if your sympathies don't lie with those on the bottom of the economic scale, know that HB 1483 comes with a cost that's punitive to the taxpayer, as well. The Legislative Service Agency's fiscal impact statement puts the net cost at $1.19 million, even after the state saves roughly $1.5 million from withheld TANF money.